U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,259 to Howell discloses a programmable static trip circuit breaker which includes a plurality of auxiliary functions such as a shunt-trip facility and under-voltage release. The circuit breaker contacts employed with static trip breakers are generally mounted in a compartment and the circuit breaker assembly is moved in and out of the compartment by means of rails. When the circuit breaker is fully within the compartment, the main contacts of the breaker fully engage the main receptacles within the compartment. When the circuit breaker is partially removed from the compartment, the main contacts are broken and some means must be provided for allowing electrical continuity for auxiliary function test purposes. The use of programmable static trip circuit breakers has increased the number of auxiliary functions that can be provided to circuit breaker compartments and hence has increased the number of contacts within the secondary disconnect assembly to provide electrical connection for the added functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,301 to Ericson et al. discloses secondary disconnects mounted on the side of the circuit breaker and compartment respectively. These contacts slidingly engage when the circuit breaker is moved within the compartment and slidingly disengage when the breaker is at least partially removed. The large contacts required with the Ericson et al. patent assembly do not readily provide sufficent space for the provision of extra contacts when programmable static trip circuit breakers are employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,748 to Wolfe et al. discloses the provision of secondary contacts on the rear surface of the breaker. The provision of rear mounted secondary disconnects does not readily lend itself to ready accessibility for inspection, replacement and repair.
One of the problems involved with increasing the number of contacts within a side-mounted secondary disconnect assembly is the difficulty in dynamic alignment between the contact pins on the disconnect plug and the corresponding holes within the receptacle. When an AMP-type connector plug is used for a disconnect assembly, a large number of contact pins and receptacle holes are arranged in a closely spaced array. AMP is a trademark of the AMP Electric Company for electrical connectors. This arrangement does not lend itself to a movable mechanized disconnect assembly because some means must be employed for ensuring that the pins become centered and aligned with the corresponding receptacle holes or the pins could become damaged during the connection process.
The purpose of this invention, therefore, is to provide a disconnect assembly employing a plurality of contacts within a disconnect assembly having centering and alignment facility so that the contact pins become readily aligned and centered with respect to the receptacle holes during a dynamic connection process.